It’ll be a battle of bests when Oregon (9-2) flies south to face No. 4 Stanford (11-1) in both teams’ first Pac-12 conference game of the season.
The Ducks enter the game as the nation’s top scoring team at 105.3 points per game while Stanford is the Pac-12’s top defensive team by giving up just 58.2 points per game.
Three of the Pac-12’s top four scorers will also be showcasing their talents when Chiney Ogwumike of Stanford brings her conference leading 25.8 points per game against Chrishae Rowe (24.5) and Jillian Alleyne (20.4) of Oregon.
The game will also have big ramifications in determining if Oregon is a team to be taken seriously or if they’re merely a pretender.
While the Ducks’ record suggests a very good team, Oregon has played only one top-25 team all season and nine of its 11 games have been at home. The Ducks also lost to No. 1 UConn 114-68 back on Nov. 20 in Connecticut in their biggest game of the season to date.
Stanford’s only loss of the season came back on Nov. 11 when they fell also to UConn by a score of 76-57. The Cardinal were pushed around and couldn’t stop Connecticut’s speed which led to many fast break points, something the Ducks have excelled at in non-conference play.
Led by Alleyne, the Ducks are the top rebounding team in the Pac-12, averaging 56 rebounds per game. Alleyne is the widely considered the best rebounder in the Pac-12, if not the nation, averaging 14.3 rebounds per game.
The series is one that has been dominated by Stanford as it has won 47 of the teams’ 55 matchups, including 26 of 27 wins at home against the Ducks.
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